Brighton/Hove People and ASD!

[brightonite]

Hi everyone - I am moving to the brighton/Hove area shortly with my DH and two children, one of whom has autism.

I am keen to talk to anyone with experience of the area and of the services available for children with asd. We are all excited by the move yet terrified of the fights we may need to have over schools etc.

Does anyone have any do's and don'ts? My ds is a bright little boy who is currently doing well in mainstream school but who struggles socially to make relationships (sound familiar?)

Also are Brighton Mum's and Dad's a friendly bunch and would you recommend any groups etc?
Thanks to anyone who is willing to reply!

Hi Brightonite, my son has ASD and goes to a special school in Brighton. I think a lot of your questions could be answered if you visit Amaze. They are very helpful and organise lots of brilliant things for disabled children in Brighton such as free swimming, cinema club, theatre trips etc. They also help with the more practical problems, for instance, a lady is coming to my house soon to help me fill in my DLA form. HTH and welcome to Brighton .

Sorry, it's ASC now apparently .

Thanks Pixel! The whole ASD/ASC debate still rages on here - if you say ASC nobody seems to know what you are talking about!

I will definitely have a look at Amaze - it sounds wonderful!

Hello there..

I think you're moving into an area that is pretty well resourced SN wise.. We moved out of Brighton to West Sussex before our dd was born with Tuberous Sclerosis ( GDD/MLD, epilepsy,and is prob on the ASD/C spectrum but undiagnosed as yet..)

We have deliberated whether to move back to Brighton because there is better provision in some areas like SLT and also the voluntary sector is very lively and Amaze in particular is a fantastic organisation. I think there are a couple of mainstream schools as well that have special units attached for children with autism but Amaze would be able to fill you in about that..

I also think that all the parents I've met in the SN world from Brighton/ Hove have been lovely and very friendly and I'm sure if you connect up with any groups you'll be made very welcome..

Best of luck.

DJAngel - have had a minor wobble this weekend after telling our eldest DD who has mixed feelings about the move but am back on track again after reading your comments!
I will contact Amaze this morning to try and see what they recommend with regards to schools and services. I understand that my son's statement will initially move with him which is great. Hope you and your family are doing well x